1955 Ford Truck & 1968 Chevy C20 - Readers' Trucks

Editor's Note: Getting your truck into Readers' Trucks is a snap, of the camera, that is. All it takes is a stack of good-quality photos of your ride that are in focus and well lit. Due to the volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot return photographs. Send photos of your truck (no Polaroids or printouts) to: CCT, Readers' Trucks, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870. It is important that you include a detailed description of the modifications you have made to your truck, including any interesting stories behind it.

A True Labor Of LoveThe story of this '55 Ford truck began in Jacksonville, Mississippi, when Alex and Victoria Morrison purchased it in '69 to get to and from work. They even used it to build their home. In '79 they gave it to their son, Butch, for a graduation present. He immediately began making changes to it-like adding gold flames and some pinstriping.

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In '89 Butch and a friend went to the F-100 Supernationals, back when it was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Butch decided it was time to do a frame-off restoration. He began taking the Ford apart piece by piece. He even chromed parts as he took them off. As a lot of builds go, other projects and circumstances prolonged the restoration much longer than expected. Eighteen years later, the truck was finally apart. Things took so long that the cab and other parts, that were already sandblasted, began to rust again. However, plans were always in the works to finish the truck. Butch and his dad always planned to reassemble the truck, and parts were ordered continuously over the years. There really wasn't any hurry to get the truck done-they thought they had plenty of time.

On July 7, 2004 Butch died unexpectedly at the age of 42. He took the plans for the '55 with him.

That October, Alex, his brother David, and friends, decided to finish Butch's last project and continue the dream by starting on the truck again. With the truck sitting up on four jackstands, they began hacking away. Four years later, the truck was finished. So they headed to the Supernationals, now in Knoxville, Tennessee, the birthplace of Butch's dream. Although it took four years to complete the build, they never gave up-making it a true labor of love.

I'll Take Mine RareT.R. Mayer, of Brunswick, Maine, definitely has a rare ride. How rare is it, well, he's not 100 percent sure, but he does have an idea.

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"My truck is a '68 Chevy C20 with a factory flatbed and factory dual-rear-wheel option. I have the original bill of sale, and called the GM research department in Flint, Michigan, to determine how rare this truck may be, as I've had several people tell me that GM didn't build C20 dualies, even though I have the buildsheet attached to the glovebox door.

"The people at GM told me that GM did not keep records of production runs that were less than 1 percent of the total run. They also told me that there were 1,100 flatbed C20's ordered in '68, but they had no record of any flatbed C20 dualies. The lady on the phone told me: 'Congratulations, you have one of 11 or less of that particular model!'

"The truck is still basically stock, although I've put Langdon headers, Offy 4-bbl intake, and an Edelbrock 500-cfm carb on the 292 I-6. The transmission is a World Class T5 with Stang gears and a Sonoma tailshaft. The T5 made all the difference in driveability. The interior was modestly redone in tan leather on the dashpad, visors, door panels, and a subtle roll and pleat. The gauges are Classic Instruments and the steering column is an ididit. The bed was completely rebuilt with varnished oak, including the sills. Stainless steel skid strips keep the boards apart."

By the way, T.R., the only reason you don't see many dualies is that we just don't come across any in our genre. Most of them are more work-related. But if we do find some that fit our criteria, we'll throw 'em here.